


Envelop

by Samurott1999



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Mild Gore, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Embrace the Void Ending (Hollow Knight), The Hollow Knight is nicknamed Hollow, Vomiting, poor Hollow, sorta - Freeform, the knight is named ghost
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24113794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samurott1999/pseuds/Samurott1999
Summary: Godseeker becomes a conduit of sorts and Hornet might be fixing it on her way.
Relationships: Nailsmith/Nailmaster Sheo (Hollow Knight), it's implied much like in the game but it's not a main focus
Comments: 2
Kudos: 65





	1. The Shadelord, The Conduit, and the Other Siblings

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fanfic that I've ever published. The chapters are a little short, so I've combined every 2 chapters from Drive into one chapter each. I figured I'd upload this so I might get a little more motivation to keep going.

They had fought many gods by now. Surely one more wouldn't be--

Oh of course it was.

Ghost stood in front of the Radiance and had begun dragging their Nail across Her body and expertly dodging Her incoming attacks. She was the only one standing between them and total victory, so they slashed and stabbed at Her with their Nail. The Godseeker's form was visible to them. She was hiding away from The Radiance until She would defeat them. They knew better. They almost felt as though they had fought Her many other times. They would b **e defeating** **Her** **today.** As they struck a supposed-final blow, their skull and cloak fell to the ground, the skull making a _clunk_ noise as it landed and the cloak fluttered down next to it, almost on top of it but just off to the side enough that it overlapped without being directly on top. Their void, however, had disappeared from within, growing and stretching into a new god for Godseeker to revere instead of that **g** **l** **o** **w** **i** **n** **g** **m** **o** **t** **h**.

Simply put, they became the **Shade Lord** , and they grabbed The Radiance with their tendrils, rising from the void that had collected below them. They pushed at Her eye socket, breaking it open to reach for **that** **delicious light that burned others minds.** They slashed away at her to release it from her body, and drank it up before turning to the Godseeker's form. Their tendrils released The Radiance's dead body to fall further into Godhome, perhaps never to be seen again, and reached out to wrap the Godseeker in them instead, seeking a way out of the golden clouds of Godhome. On the outside, the Godseeker's mouth dripped with black void, and tendrils reached out from her, quickly taking over the Junk Pit she had made into her home. That wasn't all that **the** **Shade Lord** wanted, though. They continued reaching out from there into the Royal Waterways, twisting their tendrils around the pipes and flowing into the water. They poured their energy into and through the area, claiming the territory as theirs. 

The Radiance was gone, and with it, any that had been reanimated by its infection fell to the ground, while those that had had their mind warped by it remained alive and came, slowly, back to their senses. Much like those beings, the Hollow Knight had been freed of the Radiance’s power, and released from their chains. They allowed themself a moment of rest before hobbling to the door, propping themself up on their nail. They watched as the infection left the vine-like membranes around them wilted, dired, and dead. Their half-sister, Hornet, awaited outside the Black Egg, and appeared to have been zoning out before they had startled her with their arrival from within the Egg.

* * *

Hornet pulled out her needle-like nail, unknowing that the infection had been cured across the entirety of Hollownest.

“You should not have been able to escape those bindings without the help of our sibling. I should cut you down where you stand,” she spoke to them, preparing for the incoming battle.

The Hollow Knight watched her, a bit warily, before stepping away from the egg yet not towards the entrance. Hornet was made curious by this, so she cautiously followed, her nail still in hand. The Hollow Knight sat down, though the action looked more as though they had fallen down into a sitting position. Perhaps they had. They set their nail beside them, and tapped the ground in front of them. She sighed, almost a huff, and responded, “Fine. I shall sit with you. Should you prove to be infected as you have been, I will not hesitate to strike you down.” The Hollow Knight appeared...comforted by her response. There was no fear in response to her being prepared to potentially kill them if they were infected. Was that because they were still infected, and perhaps might not mind being dead? Were they confident that they would prove themself to her? Or had they simply not heard? Whatever the reason, she remained wary of them as they rested in front of her.

As the Hollow Knight rested before her, she looked closely at them, almost studying them. She noted the missing forearm, and the crack in their skull. She noticed that their eyes were not glowing the orange of infection, but had remained black as most masks. Such details were commonly lost in the moment, and while she did not regret her wariness, she did feel a bit guilty over it. She reached out gently to trace the Hollow Knight’s injuries, to remove anything remaining from the infection that did not belong and to help them heal anything else. The Hollow Knight allowed her to continue her motions as she cleanly sliced off bits of flesh that had gone numb and grown outward, cancerous. She bandaged the skull, knowing a crack in the skull was difficult, and potentially impossible, to heal. She sewed the arm stump together, so the flesh would not simply dangle from the wound. She wondered what had done such a thing as she worked. They had been alone in there, hadn’t they? Just them and The Radiance in their head? She looked up to her half-sibling’s bandaged face. “Did you do this to yourself,” She asked, “or did The Radiance do this to you?” Their half-sibling looked speechless for a bit, before a bit of guilt showed its way through as they looked away.

“...Me,” they muttered, “I did this.”


	2. Sibling Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hornet and the Hollow Knight heal up and head out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Chapters 3 and 4!  
> I don't usually make multiple drafts, but the comments motivated me to edit the first drafts. Thanks so much for your comments and kudos!

As Hornet finished wrapping the Hollow Knight's injuries, she asked them, “Do you think you can walk?” The Hollow Knight began to stand, propping themself up as their nail dug into the temple floor. Hornet nodded curtly, and led them to the hot spring and the bench that awaited them there.

The Hollow Knight lost their balance a few times. Their injuries, both self-inflicted and otherwise, caused them to fall in on themself occasionally, but Hornet kept them steady on the way there. It slowed the pair a bit but the two of them got there fine. Hornet helped the Hollow Knight into the hot spring.

Hornet worried over her sibling, though if you asked it was not worry, simply concern. It was worry all the same, though. What was she supposed to do? Her sibling had practically gouged their stomach out! Would it heal? Could it heal, with those remnants of infection in the wound?

... Would they even make it to heal?

She was pulled out of her thoughts by another bug walking in. He was trying to conceal his limp, though he was clearly failing. She made her way over.

“Hm. I thought you were dead. Weren’t you one of those supposed warriors that was going to die fighting in the Colosseum of Fools?”

“Clearly, I am alive,” he responded. “Yes. Clearly,” Hornet replied, snark dripping from her voice, before continuing, “What was with your body having been thrown out into the cliffs below there, then?” The beetle stood, and proudly proclaimed, “A true warrior would never give up, even in the face of death!” His face went from proud to a bit embarrassed (though it seemed like he thought it to be secondhand embarrassment), saying, “Unfortunately, I was thought dead when I was simply  _ unconscious _ , so they threw me down like the failure they thought me to be, rather than letting me continue fighting!” Ah. that cleared up some things.

"Would you like some assistance, then? If you went unconscious, you likely have some injuries," she offered, but the beetle,  _ Tiso, _ she remembered, was very stubborn.

"To accept help is to accept weakness, and I am strong! ...but thank you for the offer."

The Hollow Knight made a bit of noise. Not quite a voice, but certainly similar to one, that seemed to be their attempt to call Hornet over. “Your, ah, friend there seems to be asking for you,” the beetle commented. "I am aware," she answered, before walking back through the hot spring to the Hollow Knight, whose injuries appeared to be getting better. The arm was healing nicely, though it would never be replaced, and the few remaining lumps of flesh in the torso looked like they would fall off on their own, allowing the torso to fully and truly heal. “Ah. Alright, let’s get you up and out. We must find Ghost now, as they must have found a way to kill The Radiance without defeating you. We must ensure they are safe.” The Hollow Knight stood again, and Hornet helped them out of the hot spring and down towards the City of Tears.

* * *

Hornet walked alongside the Hollow Knight, assisting them when they almost fell over on the way to the elevator into the City. It’s a bit of a long trip from the hot spring, but the stag running back and forth between stations causes a lot of vibrations, and the Hollow Knight did not need to be moved right now. So the pair had taken a longer path down. Fortunately, with the Infection gone, it was a safe path, but it still would take longer due to the slower speed the two had to take. Hornet’s guesstimate was that they’d need to find somewhere to sleep for the night, and they’d get to the elevator the next afternoon.

The path down would be so boring, and the Hollow Knight knew it. They couldn’t talk, not like most bugs could. Ghost could mimic talking, but that was through practice, and they still had had trouble with some noises, due to the chittering noise that they could make as bugs and the strange gaping “noise” that silence, and the void, made. However, the Hollow Knight was forever out of practice. They weren’t to attempt to speak if they were to truly be the Pure Vessel they were meant to be, and the Hollow Knight all had thought they were. Hornet heard them trying, though, on the way down. There were chittering noises, like most uncivilized bugs, and some squishy or wind-like noises, much like the void itself. Hornet helped the Hollow Knight practice, and by the break for lunch, the half-siblings had some of the noises that were easy to do down.

The Hollow Knight could say some simple words after lunch. They could ask for help if they needed to. They could ask for most things, actually, but they only asked for help, and only when it was painfully obvious when Hornet looked over to them. They had a proper vocabulary by the end of the day, when they rested but before they slept, though it sounded a bit like the Hollow Knight had an accent, due to their slowed speech and combination of noises to make the speech itself.

In between her teachings of how to gain a voice, Hornet wondered about the Hollow Knight’s life before their containment. The only name they knew themself to be was “the Pure Vessel” and “the Hollow Knight,” so perhaps a nickname was in order.

“Hey, Hollow Knight,” she called. They looked up from their hands at her, making a questioning hum. “Perhaps you could use a nickname of some kind, so that I can call to you faster.” They looked thoughtful, before the echoey, stuttering voice from them gave Hornet a nickname to use.

By the time they were at the elevator, Hollow could say any word you asked of them, and had no strangeness to their voice but an echoey, almost  _ hollow _ sound to their voice. They still only spoke in words and phrases, out of preference.


	3. Advancement through the City of Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A change of perspective, and a (brief) change in style.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I know I haven't updated for a while, and I'm really sorry about that! I got a bit distracted for a while, but I've still got more to write and more to publish!

It was only five days ago he had sat beside the Blue Lake, with Ghost beside him, watching the water flow and fall. He had returned home for a purpose, and he had completed it. What else could he do but remain on the shore? His thoughts overpowered him and

It was only three days ago he was found by Sheo, who he later found was once a Nailmaster, after almost drowning in the lake. That three days ago, he had been put to work alongside the Nailsmith, though the Nailsmith and Sheo work together more often. He smiled at them. What a happy couple. He continued his work in clay on each of the Dreamers, while the couple made the five Knights of Hallownest.

It was only two days ago that he had heard that Ghost was off to fight gods in the junk pile. ...Was that really only two days ago? It felt like a few weeks, maybe a month ago, that he had first...well. He certainly doesn’t need to dwell on old thoughts of an old purpose. Those two days ago were the last he'd heard of Ghost.

Now, he was in the City of Tears again, but he was with Sheo and the Nailsmith this time. The City wasn’t quite  _ bursting with life _ as it once had, but there was no infection anymore. One of the guardsmen approached the trio. Sheo took the lead.

"Greetings."

"Hello citizen. You appear to be one of the Nailmasters that I've heard of. Is this correct?" The guard asked. Sheo responded, "I was, once. I still teach, but I don't consider myself a  _ nailmaster _ , exactly." "You can still help us, though?"

"Perhaps all three of us can?" The Nailsmith suggested. "That's fine; it's a search mission anyways so the more eyes, the better," the guard responded. "What kind of search mission might this be?" asked the Nailmaster. "We're searching for the King. You wouldn't mind assisting our search, would you?" The guard requested "The King? I thought he was dead, wasn't he?" The Nailsmith gasped. The guard seemed to expect this, and explained, "One with the King's Brand would do." He then showed off a poster with an image of the King's Brand sketched onto it.

"Oh, I believe I've seen that symbol before!" Quirrel exclaimed, "I believe Ghost had that on themself." "If you're correct, then we must find this 'Ghost' friend of yours. They may be our next King." So the trio headed down towards the sewer, the guard leaving to report to the other guards.

As they got closer to the Junk Pile, the tendrils of shadow and void grew further outward, until the trio was unknowingly and hopelessly lost. The tendrils followed their attempts at following the map to find new places to grow into, eventually consuming the entirety of the Royal Waterways.

* * *

It's always a bit odd to find yourself in a place that was once lifeless after all has been returned to its previous conditions. The City of Tears was certainly not the busy place it once was, but it was certainly busier than it was before. Hollow had never seen the city without a purpose for it (Nails run out so quickly sometimes) but Hornet had visited occasionally. She often travelled between her mother's Deepnest rest and her father's Palace comfort. Both were traps of some kind.

The pair of siblings walked from the elevator down to the roads of the city, passing a few guards chatting amongst themselves.  _ Truly, Deepnest’s inhabitants would never fit in up here, even if they wanted to _ , Hornet thought to herself upon hearing how some of the guards spoke of her, only muttering a bit under her breath as she pulled Hollow along, not ungentle but still rather quickly.

Except that only a few steps later, Hollow picked up speed, as though they had sensed something. They almost dragged Hornet along. Hornet kept up, though, by pulling herself along her line of silk. As she flew, she watched as Hollow's void body flickered, as though it was struggling to remain a proper body rather than a shadow.

_ drip _

She stopped, as did Hollow, when the pair came upon a mass of void tendrils. Hollow's eyes widened at the sight, backing away, but Hornet did not. She stepped forward, slicing through the vine-like constructs, and pulled Hollow through the entryway when they did not continue their determined stomp through the city.

_ drip _

She did not mind the droplets of void. They could not hurt her. She had no relation to the void itself.

_ drip _

Her father's corrupted blood of his deeds did not give her the ways of void, but instead a simple removal of light.

_ drip _

She could not be hurt by the void.

_ drip _

But Hollow could be.

Hollow panicked, their constant chittering noises growing louder and almost screaming. Hornet turned to see the tendrils, having grown back, trying to pull Hollow into them, as them, forming them. Hollow's arm scratched uselessly along the ground as Hornet ran to them and pulled. Hollow rolled over, giving Hornet access to their shoulders and a better grip, and pulled their grabbed ankle closer, grabbing and scratching at the void construct gripping their ankle. Hornet pulled them away from the nest of void, laying them in a more defensible position. Easier to escape, and easier to fight from. She grabbed the offending tendril and sliced it in half, throwing the disintegrating piece into the water below.

“We should keep going...Make our way to a bench so you can heal up.”


	4. The Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two groups (and Tiso) finally meet.

None of the trio knew their way around the waterways. None of them ever had any reason to be down there. Quirrel had been searching for his reason for returning, taking in the sights on the way, and figured there was nothing in the waterways that he could be looking for. It was just a sewer, after all. What would he find but local pests? Sheo had found his place a while back. Similarly, the Nailsmith had his hut to the west of most of the city. What would any of them really do in the waterways, anyways?

Well, other than dealing with pests. Flukes were practically everywhere down here. The group had to slice through the thick darkness and then there would be more flukes just passed it. As they sliced through one group of void, they found themselves at a very familiar section of the waterways. They had gone in a circle, and yet somehow the mass of smokey void before them had rebinded. If they wanted to get through again, they’d have to hack back through it. They made a decision to head out of the sewer. No use in slashing through the blockages if they didn’t know where they were going, after all.

Sheo and the Nailsmith broke each of the entwined tendrils making up the last of the void barriers and the group climbed out, only for Quirrel to find himself face to face with the Hollow Knight themself.

* * *

Hollow backed away from the sewer. They did not expect to go looking for a bench and find another bug in the meantime. Out of reflex, Hornet drew her needle, holding it off to one side and was about to attack when she felt Hollow’s hand just barely on her shoulder. She glanced back and up towards them before recognizing the bug in front of her. That’s the bug from the Howling Cliffs, a week or two ago. She paused.

“Why were you and your group in the sewers?” she asked. Sheo started.

“We’ve bee--” “Not you,” interrupted Hornet, “I want to hear it from the simple bug.”

“Ah. Well, we were searching for a friend of mine. They were last seen going into the sewer, so we hoped to find them down there. The problem is that the paths go in circles, and there’s black tentacles everywhere that block our paths.” Quirrel explained, Hornet perking up a little at the paths part, while the other bug (If he didn’t know better, Quirrel would say that this is the Hollow Knight) shuddered some at the mention of black tentacles.

“I’m sure I could find the way through,” Hornet offered, sheathing her needle, “Climb back down so I can come with.” The bug beside her hesitated, but followed them down the ladder.


End file.
